Signature bundle



Jan. Z5, 1955 l. KRAMER 2,700,462

SIGNATURE BUNDLE Filed Aug. 20, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet l E LL :f1 l if N L. KRAMER SIGNATURE BUNDLE Jan. 25, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 20, 1952 I lIl] (Z0 i] l y United States Patent() SIGNATURE BUNDLE Lawrence I. Kramer, Park Forest, Ill., assignor to R: R. Donnelley & Sons Company, a corporation of Illinois Application August 20, 1952, Serial No. 305,362

3 Claims. (Cl. 206-60) This invention relates to printing press and binding work and more particularly to improved means for handling printed signatures from the time they leave the printing and folding machine until they are assembled with different signatures for binding into a complete book, magazine, pamphlet, or the like.

The usual practice in making up a catalog o f the type used by mail-order houses and the like, is to print certain pages on a printing press and process them through a folder, which may be integral with the printing press or a separate machine, and automatically fold the sheets in to page size units which are known as signatures. The signatures are delivered one at a time at a fast rate from the folding unit and are then picked up by hand, logged into alignment and then placed on platforms, pallets, or in trucks for removal to storage or to subsequent processing operations. As the signatures delivered by one folder represent but a smallportion of the final assembly, it is necessary to bring other packs (or groups) 'of signatures from other folders to the assembly operations. As there are physical limitations to the size of the package a worker can conveniently handle, a great deal of labor is involved in getting the signatures from the folders to subsequent processing operations.

The primary object ofthe present invention is to provide signature bundles or a continuous, compact stream of signatures, held together in alignment, which may be formed as the signatures leave the folding machine and to hold the signatures in alignment while they are traveling to subsequent processing operations or storage. Mechanical handling systems, including power, manual, and gravity systems, and including monorail conveyors, belts, chutes, slides, etc. can be used. It has been found that a signature bundle (sometimes called a log, a bale, or a signature stream) weighing 25 lbs. to 1000 or more lbs. can be adapted to the handling operations. As the signa tures are held in alignment and registration by means of flexible wires, the bundle is exible, can be bent while passing around corners and can be carried or stored in a vertical stack so that a minimum of space is required.

Another object of the invention is to have a grip wire or a number of parallel grip wires (the term wire includes wire, threads, bars, flexible cables, bands, etc.) engage aligned marginal slits in the margin of the signatures so that no jogging operation is required, and that the signatures can be mechanically placed in alignment with one another and the alignment maintained by the grip on the wires at all times.

Another object of the invention is to provide abutment plates at the ends of the bundle so that the ends of the grip wires may be secured and will apply slight tension to the bundle so as to separate the continuous stream of signatures into units that are convenient for handling and storage, and so that the bundle may be lifted on end, stood on end, hung from one end, or otherwise handled as a unit. Preferably the grip wires are in the form of small cables made of strands of wire so as to provide a roughened surface, and each individual signature is fric tionally held by the grip wires engaging the slits. In addition to the grip wires, other wires may be provided to engage the opposed edges of the signatures, but these wires "ice serve as guides and donot engagespecia'l slits in tht? signature. Preferably each bundle has a rigid ,panel .0n which the signatures rest when they are in reclining position. However, the panels, wires and abutment plates can be used repeatedly by returning them to the signature forming machine after the signatures have been delivered to the assembly machine.

The invention is illustrated in a preferred embodiment in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a signature bundle resting on a panel;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same;

Fig. 3 a fragmentary perspective View showing how the signatures are frictionally mounted on the grip wires;

Fig. 4 a vertical sectional view, taken as indicated at line 44 of Fig. l;

Fig. 5 a fragmentary sectional view, taken as indicated at line 5--5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 a fragmentary plan sectional view, taken as indicated at line 6--6 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 a fragmentary sectional view, taken as indicated at line 7 7 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 8 a fragmentary elevational view of the binding margin of a signature, showing the attaching slit; and

Fig. 9 a fragmentary sectional View showing a signature with its slit engaged by the gripping wire.

In the embodiment illustrated, a plurality of identical signatures 10 are each provided with a pair of short aligned slits 11 which preferably extend perpendicularly into the binding margin in the folded edge of the signature. However, the slits may be in other margins of the signatures, as the margins are usually trimmed off in the final binding operation. A front abutment plate 12 is provided at the front end of the bundle and a rear abutment plate 13 is provided at the opposite end. A pair of flexible cables 14 extend through the slits in the signatures and are connected to bolts 15 and 16 on the abutment plates 12 and 13 respectively. The cables may be about %4 of an inch in diameter and are formed of fine, twisted wires to make the cables more flexible and provide a better frictional gripping surface.

While the signatures are held in alignment by the cables 14, it is sometimes desirable to have additional cables or wires 17 engaging opposed edges of the signatures. These additional wires are shown attached to the abutment plates 12 and 13 by winged nuts 18 and 19 respectively. These wires are particularly desirable for holding the abutment plates in alignment if the signature bundle or log is to be suspended or transported in a vertical position.

The signature bundle is shown mounted on a panel 20 provided on one end with a pair of hooks 21. The abutment plate 12 has diagonal corner members 22 and a cross member 23 to which hooks 24 may be attached. The hooks may be provided on chains 25 on a cross bar 26 which may rest in the hooks 21.

In forming the signature bundle, each signature has its slits formed over the gripping cables and preferably the signature is not drawn longitudinally along the wire as such a movement will tend to cut a hole and result in a loose grip. When the signatures are properly forced on the wire, the frictional or mechanical engagement has been found suicient to support the weight of the signature even when the bundle is inverted.

The foregoing detailed description is given for clearness of understanding only, and no unnecessary limitations should be understood therefrom, for some modications will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

I claim:

l. A flexible paper signature bundle comprising: an elongated group of aligned, similarly printed signatures, the bundle being of a length at least several times the longest dimension of a signature, each of said signatures having in its folded marginal portion a pair of spaced, transverse short slits: a pair of parallel grip wires frictionally gripped by the edges of the slits in said signatures so as to' hold the signatures in compact, face abutting, registering juxtaposition; and separate abutment plates at the ends of the elongated bundle securing the ends of the wires, said plates and grip wires serving to connect 5 and support said signatures so that the bundle may be handled and stored as a unit.

2. The bundle of claim 1 in which guide wires are provided to engage the lateral edges of the signatures, and the guide wires are attached at their ends to the abut- 10 ment plates.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Gremple f Oct. 30, 1906 Reschke Nov. 18, 1919 Delkin Oct. 5, 1920 Youngfelt et al J an. 27, 1942 

